Miffed at Sen rise in TMC, Humayun threatens to join BJP

Feeling slighted by the rise of singer-politician Indranil Sen in the party circles, former minister and Trinamool Congress leader Humayun Kabir Sunday said, he may quit the ruling party and join the BJP or launch his own party.

He would be meeting party general secretary Mukul Roy to tell him how the party workers were feeling neglected under Indranil Sen, who had contested the Lok Sabha election from Behrampur, but lost.

“We are feeling insulted. He is replacing experienced block level presidents with apolitical people. He conducts meetings at will and does not even bother to keep us in the loop. We are not going to take it sitting,” Kabir told The Indian Express.

He said he will go to Kolkata Monday and talk to Mukul Roy. “If he can’t find a solution, then I would request for an appointment with party chief Mamata Banerjee,” he added.

Kabir alleged that the high-handedness of the singer-turned-politician “was appalling”. “Even the CM has never behaved rudely with us during our interaction with her. Indranil had secured around 2,26,000 votes from Behrampur and he received most votes – 43,509 – from my constituency, Rejinagar,” he added.

Asked about his next course of action, if TMC failed to offer a solution, Kabir said, “The most probable alternative would be to join BJP.

There is also a possibility to form an independent party with my local supporters here,” he said, adding he will never return to Congress till (PCC chief) Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is there and “CPI-M had been my sworn enemy”.

Sources said, Kabir also held a meeting with the local TMC leaders and his supporters at Rejinagar Sunday.

Since the CM is on a tour of East and West Midnapore, Kabir intends to stay in Kolkata till he gets to meet Mamata.

Sen was not available for comments but a senior TMC leader from Behrampore said that the changes and meetings that the actor-singer was carrying out were in accordance with the instructions of Mamata Banerjee.

Contacted, state BJP president Rahul Sinha said that he had heard about Kabir’s ongoing tiff with Sen but refused to comment on whether the former will join the saffron party.

Switching loyalties is nothing new for Kabir, who was first elected to the panchayat samiti on a TMC ticket in 1998. He had dumped TMC to join Congress in 2003 and contested Murshidabad zilla parishad seat.

He again returned to TMC in 2012 and was a minister in Mamata cabinet till he had to relinquish the post after he lost the Assembly bypolls in 2013.